Altercation
by Sugahlei
Summary: A fiction based off the video Deep Dive, with hopefully a different twist. Sora has gone missing, his Keyblade separated between the two forces that tug it, and of course...Riku. But *which* Riku has taken Sora? (shonen ai)
1. before

**::Warnings/Disclaimer:: **

Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, I make absolutely *squat* off the fiction.  *sigh*…anyways.  They belong to square and Disney, and have graced my muse with enough stuff to chew on to keep me busy.

This fic is based off the Deep Dive video, and I've had it on countless repeat to get the plot hammered out.  You'll see some familiar lines and scenes that I've worked out…and again, I know I'm not the only one to do this…but damn if I didn't take a different way, okay?  It's mostly Riku's pov, with inserts…

And…um, this is also going to be **_shonen_****_ ai_—but that's not a big surprise, ne?  ^_~**

( and I have no clue how long this will be…^_^;;; )

~**Altercation~**

~Prologue~

_::...his__ voice...::_

_::...I__ don't hear it anymore...::_

_The silver-gleaming waves crest high in the tension of the air, rocking swells of force that seem ponderous and slow, almost majestic.  It is an artful lie of beauty—the force hidden within the motion has crushed ships and pounded away the land._

_Above the sea a figure is sent twisting through the air just out of reach of the water.  His destination, his fate, is unknown to even the gods that watch over the land._

_The boy is Lost._

~oOo~

The moon had risen when the cloaked form seated upon the rock felt the jangle against his senses that signaled another's presence.  The one upon the stone did not move to greet the arrival, but he did not turn to leave.  He merely paused in his inspection of the night sky and waited.

After a soundless chime of air, the one upon the stone heard the sound of footsteps grating against the damp sand, the soft creak of worn leather.  The one who had arrived drew close with measured steps, and neither spoke until the newcomer paused as well, waiting a small distance away.

The seated one turned his head from the view of the moon-laced water and spoke.  "He looks just like you.  He's gone now. I sent him to the Other place for safekeeping."

The arrival tilted his head, unseen eyes glinting yellow in the darkness as he took in the rumpled clothing, the traces of wounds already healed over.  "You went to the city afterwards," he stated, standing there.  His voice was low and pleasantly smooth.

"I did," the other spoke, selecting his words with care.  "I gave him the Oblivion."

The arrival merely nodded.  "Then it has begun."

~oOo~

_::So afraid to love you::_

_::More afraid to lose::_

_::Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose::_

The last glimmer of the indigo light faded from the rain-slick pavement.  Residual sparks from a few rising crystalline hearts, the whisking shadows fading away under the slightest pressure—

But the young man standing still in the center of the street didn't notice either of these things.  His attention had slipped downward to the object still held disbelievingly in his grasp, and stared without seeing.  He did not need his eyes to see, not in this electric night.

He was holding the Oblivion.  It wasn't possible, it _couldn't be possible—the Oblivion only existed through the Keyblade—_

_Sora had the Keyblade, didn't he?_

_The other boy, the one that felt different…he held the Oathkeeper…His hands shook in their ebon gloves, rain-spotted and damp from sweat.  His body was still tuned to the song of battle, nerves thrumming and muscles twitching.  His mind was aching in absent throbs to the stress of calling forth the keyhole of the world—he had sensed the Keyblade, had thought it was Sora…_

_No, a part of him reminded him.  _There were _two__ Keyblades.  What's going on?  This is the Keyblade—I know__ it is, I can feel it. But…_

_"Where's Sora?" he had asked over the seething Heartless, suddenly furious and unable to keep his emotions under control.  The Heartless had died in great sweeps of his newly acquired Keyblade.  He had tried to fight his way to the other side, to where the other boy was fighting…he had so many questions, so many burning things spinning namelessly into his mind…_

…but the Other had merely smiled and slipped from what was left of his sight, leaving him standing there as the Heartless died, as the light faded from the ground…

~oOo~

_::I'm so tired, but I can't sleep::_

_::Standing on the edge of something much too deep::_

Exhaustion had overtaken him by the time he had found a way into the first district.  The wounds taken in battle had yet to be healed, and his magic had been depleted.  He was grateful to step through the doors into the calmer place, and almost just as grateful for the sudden flurry of activity his arrival had caused.

"…someone came through the Third District!" a woman cried, jarring him from sagging thoughts.  His head swiveled in the direction of the voice, and vaguely wondered about his appearance.  The lights were bright in this part of town and he couldn't get a clear view—a blurred swarm of people coming towards him—so many people.  A memory surfacing long enough to remind him that this was the First District, a safe haven in the infested worlds, but he couldn't concentrate long enough to remember how he knew this.

Oblivion dragged against the ground as he stumbled forward, boots catching on loose stones.  He felt the sharp bite of the rocks when he hit his knees, hands that caught at his clothing and dragged him from the large gateway.

Riku was barely aware of this.  All he focused upon was keeping the Keyblade in his hand, and the blindfold over his eyes.  He heard questions, but couldn't understand the words.  Voices that seemed familiar and foreign at the same time, faces that should have sparked a memory, _something...but didn't._

Then a word, a name, sliced through his foggy mind.  A question.

"Where's Sora?" a man was asking.

Riku squinted behind the black velvety cloth, trying hard to bring the features into focus. Sharp flinty blue eyes, a scar…Beyond that he couldn't tell.  He was laying down, he realized as he saw lights swimming above him, faces and people and walls…

_Where's Sora? his mind echoed._

"…I don't know," Riku replied in a hoarse scratchy voice.  He shook his head soundlessly, the people he sensed around him upset, body dragging at his mind and falling through the cracks…

_Sora…?_

_…where are_ you, Sora?...__

~oOo~

"I can sense them," a voice murmured in the silence.  "The gathering…it is growing stronger.  We will not have much time."

"No…we will not…"

The one upon the stone turned his face towards the arrival for a hesitant second, searching emotionless features for a glimpse of something he had no way to understand.  "I see you've made your choice," he said finally. Apprehension colored his voice a touch breathless, and the first one looked away.

The arrival smiled with an unfamiliar face.  He took a long moment to find the right words before speaking, "We will go together."

The one upon the stone was relieved, but didn't show it.  His gaze fell back to the sea, the silver-gilt water and the shining moon that seemed, to him, the manifestation of everything he wanted.  Neither figure spoke until the moon was nearly mid-sky.

Behind the shoulder of the one upon the stone golden eyes flashed, and a smile that was a touch more cunning graced the lips.

~oOo~

The Stranger had fought them like a demon when he realized that they were lifting him up without warning.  To think of having such instincts, to attack at any contact…It had taken Leon's rough shout and even stronger grip to stop the boy, a scrawny wounded thing, from skewering Yuffie with what appeared to be Sora's Keyblade.

That alone had sent his mind into a troubling spiral of thought.  Where was Sora? Who was this boy…if he had the Keyblade?

But he knew that asking such questions would get no clear answer—the boy was exhausted, hurt and tattered and clearly able to defend himself despite it all.  He ran a hand over his stubbled chin, back aching from a chair too small for him, and eyed the unconscious brat.

He hadn't let them remove the blindfold despite the blood matting his hair, or the keychain from his fingers. By the time Yuffie had returned with a good amount of healing potions the boy had collapsed with nothing more than a harsh whisper in response to Leon's questioning.

_"…I don't know…" the boy had said.  _

_Unless this one has some answers, it looks like no one__ knows what has happened to __Sora__, Leon thought grimly._  So what does he have to do with all of this?__

On the bed, dressed in the grimy tattered clothes he refused to let them remove, the boy stirred restlessly, hunching against something in his dreams and murmured barely-audible words.

"…Sora…Sora, come back to me…_Sora…"_

~~TBC~~

~a/n~ Now, lemme explain a few things. Riku, technically, was never seen by anyone in Traverse.  So the others wouldn't know it's him.  They will eventually, tho.  But my plot, hopefully, is a bit different than what you'd think of when watching Deep Dive….but then, I like making things twisted.  Hopefully this is also a short fic….heh…hope you guys like it!  (eee, sorry it's only the prologue!)

Oh, and lyrics are by Sarah McLachlan. XD


	2. one

**::Warnings****/Disclaimer:: **

Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, I make absolutely squat off the fiction. sigh…anyways. They belong to square and Disney, and have graced my muse with enough stuff to chew on to keep me busy.

This fic is based off the Deep Dive video, and I've had it on countless repeat to get the plot hammered out. You'll see some familiar lines and scenes that I've worked out…and again, I know I'm not the only one to do this…but damn if I didn't take a different way, okay? It's mostly Riku's pov, with inserts…

And…um, this is also going to be **_shonen_****_ ai_**—but that's not a big surprise, ne?

( and I have no clue how long this will be…;;; )

**-=Altercation=-**

-=one=-

_r-r-rrrrr-a-ra-ra-ra__! _

Jumping, startled, his eyes flew open in the shade and sunlight. Above him birds exploded into flight, crying out their peculiar _ra-ra-ra_ in annoyance of his motion. He only noticed the sound they left behind; it was an echoing syllable of something familiar—

He looked up, head knocking into a roughness, and peered through the lattice-work of branches and leaves. The sky gleamed beyond them, leaving shadows on his skin and clothes. A tree. The sky, daylight and salty freshness of the ocean—automatically, his cerulean eyes dropped to take the line of water surging gently against the pale sands.

Sora stood, brushing at his clothes and knees, digging bare toes into the cool and damp sand. The ocean. The beach. Trees and sand and the warmth of the sun—

He was _home_.

It was over.

Sora walked forward into the light and smiled.

-oOo-

He dreamed, knew he was dreaming, as he stood in the water and watched, unable to move, unable to look away, and tried with all his might to scream. Screaming, noise, essence of his own defiance—it would wake him because it was a dream—

The birds were the only noise he could hear. Mocking horrible noises that parodied his cries of _ 'Sora__! Sora, don't, Sora look at me!' _

Because he was dreaming. Sound was nearly nonexistent; the waves were a pressure he felt in his bones, the wind only a sensation on his skin. Even thoughts and his heartbeat sounded hollow—

_I'm not meant to be_

—watching-dreaming-dying-screaming—

_not__ meant_

He might as well be dying; he had no influence. Not as the brunette walked wonderingly down the beach, so close and unable to hear him, as the waves dragged at his body and froze him to the core of his soul and he couldn't _scream_—

_not__ here. here. not-here. _

Riku choked as the metallic-tasting water splashed against his face, soaking him further, but didn't dare pull his eyes from the boy wandering lazily along the sand. Didn't dare. It was Sora, and he was there, and it was a goddamn dream—

**_he's_**_ here-here-he's here_

He leaned forward to balance against the waves and found it was all he could do. No stepping forward, no calling out even though he _tried_—

_…this isn't my dream_ came the horrified thought.

And it wasn't, he realized, as the world crackled around him.

It was _Sora's_.

-oOo-

_r-r-raaa-ra-ra-raa__! _

Sora raised eyes to his right, above the trees, as the birds flew into the air with their screeching. He watched them fly over the island to circle the trees and marveled at how peaceful everything was. Calm.

_Pretty,_ he thought. _But I don't want to be alone_.

_There'll be someone else here,_ replied his common sense. Sora dug his feet into the sand, stretching. _How would I get here, if there wasn't? _

Automatically, his eyes scanned the surroundings for anyone familiar—hell, anyone at all—but the island was silent but for the birds and the wind and his own thoughts.

_Huh. Weird. Well, it's a big place; maybe they're all over somewhere else. _

Sora pulled his feet free of the sand and took a few steps forward. He laced his fingers behind his head and made dry whistling sounds to counter the shushing of the wind. Absently, he kicked at the sand and scanned the shoreline with sharp eyes.

—_listen_—

The birds had settled on the tops of the palms, clicking their beaks and chittering. Sora ignored them easily; Truthfully, he had almost forgotten about their presence until they exploded into flight again with their rough screaming cries.

_or-raaa-raaa-rarrrraa__! _

Sora flinched and tracked their flight with annoyed humor, watching them circle far around the trees and length of sands. "Stupid birds," he muttered to himself. Sora scrubbed a hand through his hair, tugging at the strands. _There's gotta be someone here, somewhere—I mean there's only so much room on this island—_

The boy looked around again, skin prickling with unease because it was so _quiet_ with just the wind and the waves and the screaming birds. He felt like screaming himself, just to see if someone would respond—the boy tugged harder at his head, trying to think.

"What are you _do_ing?" came an amused and _familiar_ voice.

Sora whirled in place, mouth dropping open and staring hard—it couldn't be—

_—stop—_

"Riku?"

-oOo-

The world went dark and tried to spit him out, tried to push him into the coldness when he caught sight of the second figure.

_No. no no-no-no not this! _he tried to scream—couldn't and felt himself tear apart inside. _Oh please, please, Sora **no**_**—**

"…Sora…"

For a moment he dared to think it was his voice that broke the silence, but it wasn't. Riku choked on the breath of straining to step forward to get out of the dragging waves. It wasn't him. Not him. This couldn't be real!

But Sora had turned around and now—oh god—he walked towards the not-him person on the sands. He could see the delighted grin on Sora's face.

**_No,_**Riku shrieked noiselessly, leaning forward, clawing at the water as sand grated under his feet and in his boots. Sand grated everywhere. His clothes dragged at him like lead, the water stinging across his skin.

_This isn't real this isn't real isn't **real** it's a dream it's **not** _****

The water dragged him back and Sora stood only a few feet away from the not-Riku, smiling. Shy. They spoke too quietly to hear—he looked so _happy_—

Riku drew a sobbing breath, blinking salt from his eyes and leaned desperately against the pull of the water.

_Oh god please, please, don't let this be real_

_Not real not__ me it's not me_

On the shore, the not-Riku casually reached out and brushed fingers against Sora's arm, smiling with _his_ smile and pushing back _his_ hair. And Sora was laughing. Smiling. _Happy_.

But it wasn't _him! _

No matter how hard he tried, how he screamed, Sora couldn't hear him.

_I can't—I won't give up—I can't—this isn't real!_ Riku dug his feet against the sand and choked on the water, unable to move and unwilling to let it pull him under.

-oOo-

"Did you sleep out here? Your mom's been waiting for you." Riku paused. "She thought you'd run away."

Sora smiled in fond embarrassment and shook his head. "She's worried all the time now…" He looked around in the dappled shadows and the sands and the blue-white curl of the water. He couldn't stop the strange sigh that escaped him.

"Sora? Are you okay?"

"It's over," Sora said aloud, lifting his face to the sun. Something coiled in bittersweet pain. "It's really over."

"You're weird," Riku grinned; Sora thought of how much he had missed that expression, that smile.

"Am not!" Sora stuck out his tongue and swiped at him with a loose fist.

Riku danced away into the shadows of the trees, the sunlight sliding over him like quicksilver. Earthy sand and pebbles of the path between the palms skittered away from his bare feet. "You are!" the boy teased.

—_stop_—

"Hah!" Sora darted after him, quick hands and nimble body; it was easy to grab a hold around the waist, despite that Riku was just as fast. Laughter like reflected water from both of them as Riku got the upper hand.

The world spun; Sora laughed, catching flashes of Riku's sea-green eyes and his pale hair and smiling mouth as the world flipped with him.

—_this isn't real_—

The birds flew into the air, shrieking—

_s-rraaa-raa-orr-rrraaa-ra__! _

—and as he fell to the ground, he saw a blackness in the bright reflecting water.

Sora hit the ground, knocked from the playfulness of the mood as quickly and as roughly as the ground felt on his elbows—just as quickly, he pushed himself up and stared—

—at water, just _water_—

—The world was colder in the shade.

_Riku_?

"Sora?"

Hands on his shoulders and Sora flinched, looked over to see Riku. Frowning, he glanced out over the water and didn't answer.

"_Sora?_" Riku sounded more insistent. "Did I hurt you? What's wrong?"

"…I saw…"

_-saw you in the water_

_-for just a moment.__ Is this real?_

_-you were…_

"What did you see?"

Sora allowed himself to be helped to his feet. "Someone in the water." _This **can't** be real…_

Riku's hands went hard and cold around his wrist—Sora blinked and realized he had stepped forward out of the shadows and onto the sand.

"Don't," the other boy's voice was low in warning.

Looking back, the smile faded from his face. _Who are you? _ he wanted to ask. It couldn't have been Riku; he knew it, somehow. Riku's face, his smile, his eyes—but it wasn't him…was it?

"Don't what?" Sora replied softly. "Don't look at the water? Don't go near it?"

"Don't do this—"

Something desperate lurked behind Riku's face. Something dark. Sora smiled at the creature. "…I'm sorry." He slipped his hand free with a deft twist of his wrist and darted forward.

_Because I saw **you** in the water._

"Sora!" The other boy cried behind him. Loud. Demanding. Insistent.

_But that's not you, is it? _

The gritty sand clung to his feet and ankles as he ran for the water. Into the sunlight that that felt almost cold against his skin. Into a breeze that smelled of salt and earth and rain.

_Riku.__ Riku, I'm coming—_

The world seemed to flicker on the edge of his vision. Washed-out sky blurred into the graying sea. Sand screeched like glass under his feet. Breathing was difficult, so hard, even as the ground shook beneath him, as the waves drew back in warning. Two steps away, one—

_Riku—!_

The water hit his ankles and legs with biting cold. So cold for this time of year. Sora pushed himself forward, staggering, eyes fixed on that strange ripped-apart void where Riku flickered in and out of his view. Seeing the water that choked him, the darkness that pulled at him. The _void_ behind him that threatened to swallow him up—

_His eyes—eyes— his eyes are—_

Five yards out and the water reached his chest. The sand was thick and muddy; the water pushing him away and down. If he slipped he knew he'd never make it to the surface again. Never. Not when Riku was so close; he couldn't let him get away—

—_Sora don't, Sora—_

Sora coughed violently when the water crept past his mouth and noise. So hard to swim, he couldn't touch the bottom any more. The world had disappeared into nothing but the numbing waves and the salt-taste in his mouth. Legs and arms ached, how they _hurt_ because it felt that the water was ripping him apart and he was so close—

_I have to—I have to reach him—_

For a moment he got a clear glimpse of Riku, his sopping ragged clothes, tangled hair. The expression of fear and relief in his face—

—_love_—

and then the waves caught them around the middle and yanked them under, yanked them down into the murky darkness. The water stung his eyes as he searched for Riku, found him by the luminance of his eyes and skin—even underwater, Riku nearly glowed.

Against the darkness wrapped around him, pulling him deeper, he shone.

_So close. I have to get to him—reach, just a little farther! _

Sora kicked, stretching arm and fingers to the boy who held his hand out, to the boy who paid no mind to the horrible things pulling him away. Sora caught his eyes and held them, reaching, trying to grasp the fingers in his.

_Riku.__ Riku Riku Riku—_

Fingers touched and Riku smiled at him, and then the world grabbed Sora around the middle and yanked him away again.

-oOo-

Gasping, Riku woke with a gasp. He could breathe. His hands twitched—he could almost feel Sora's fingers against his, almost _believed _it was a palm against his, even as it bunched and revealed itself to be fabric.

Someone was cursing softly just beyond him. His reaction was automatic; he scuttled back on the bed until the wall pressed against him, bare heels kicking up the sheets and his hand groping for a weapon.

The Keyblade flared into existence as Riku raised his head, glaring through the blindfold. He could make out the young face of a man with dark hair and stern features. "Who are you?" he rasped with a dull, aching throat, slinging the blade against the man's sternum.

"Goddammit," the man spat with the back of his hand to his mouth. Riku could smell the blood.

_Did I hit him? I must have hit him in my sleep— _

The man eyed him sourly, and swiped the blood away. "I'm the one who pulled your ass off the ground, boy. Name's Leon. And you are…?"

"…This is Traverse Town?" Riku glanced around without lowering his weapon. The air was cold, the _room_ was cold and he was barely dressed. Shit.

"Yes."

"Where are my clothes?" _Where's my stuff? _

"Getting cleaned." The man scowled and crossed his arms. "I suppose I'd have better luck looking for the name your mommy stitched on your underwear?"

Riku banished the blade and snapped, "Look, what the hell do you care? I'm just passing through, okay? Thanks for carrying me, or whatever you did, but I really don't have time to waste."

"I think you do."

"Yeah? Give me one good reason, asshole, before I kick your sorry scrawny butt to the darkness." Riku slid off the bed, wincing at the half-healed bruises and protesting muscles.

Leon eyed him sharply and snorted. "I can give you several. One; you're carrying Sora's Keyblade. Two, you were _screaming_ for him in your sleep—" he paused and Riku froze as well, the memory of a dream floating up through the muck.

"…oh god," Riku said to himself. _That couldn't have been real. It couldn't be. There's no way…right? _

"—so, that leads me to believe you either knew him or killed him. Which was it?"

Riku stopped himself from turning to face Leon, hair catching in the blindfold, in his mouth as he spoke. "I didn't kill him." He held out his hand and frowned as the Keyblade winked into his palm. "As for this…it's not _his_ blade. It's just the keychain…"

_…because there's more than one…_

_…and he knew about the keyblade…he knew about Sora… _Riku inhaled with the knowledge and raised his head violently. "You knew him? Sora? Is he here?"

-oOo-

Sora broke through the surface of the water, gasping for breath and choking on it. Arms tightened around his waist; he could feel the churning water as someone kicked their legs just behind his.

_What…am I doing? I'm drowning—what did I do?_

Riku had a deathgrip around his waist. Sora could see the profile of his friend from the corner of his eye, could see the hair sticking to the face and the water on the skin. He could feel the rough jerking of the chest as Riku breathed and swam and kicked.

_Riku?_

"You're insane!" Riku cried out as he dragged the two of them onto the shore. Sora flopped into the sands with a strange little giggle. Riku dropped to his knees beside him, fingers raking through the hair and flinging droplets.

_What was I doing, out there in the water? Why--Why can't I-- _Sora couldn't help but stare up at him. Riku was furious, eyes blazing and hair sticking up in weird angles, his clothes dripping; hell, _he _was all dripping water and sand.

"You're crazy, you know that? What the hell is _wrong_ with you? You don't just _run into the water_ like you're gonna bounce off, you idiot!"

"I ran into the water?" Sora mused to himself. "Weird. Did I scare you?"

"_Yes_, stupid! You scared the shit out of me!" Riku paused for a much needed, calming breath. "Don't _do_ stupid things like that on your bad days, okay?"

"…bad days?" Sora stared up into the sky with the wispy clouds and blinked.

Riku moved across his vision, blocking out the sun. He cupped Sora's face without warning, and stared down at him. "Sora, you have to remember that you have bad days, sometimes, and you do reckless things…it's like it's not even you in there...."

_That's not right…is it? _

"I don't…"

"You have to stop _scaring _me, okay? Everyone's been worried, everyone's scared that you're gonna go mad and do something really stupid—I thought that things were better for a while, but they're not because you're still—"

_He looks so…sad. _Sora pulled at Riku's hands until he could sit up. "Still what?"

Riku wrapped his arms around his head, wracked with some horrid emotion. "Still _seeing_ things that aren't there. Seeing people that don't exist. God, I _hate_ explaining this over and over! Why can't you just _remember _this and stay good?"

_Seeing…things? People? _

Cold welled up in Sora's stomach until he felt sick, until he could feel it leeching onto the back of his teeth.

_…was it all…fake?_ _Were all those places fake? All those people? Thos worlds? All of it—all of it wasn't real?! _

"I…Riku, I—"

Before the words and questions spilled out, Riku reached out and pulled him into a hug so fierce, Sora felt his ribs ache. Hesitantly, he raised his arms to the waist and squeezed.

_Was everything a dream? _

"Try, please try, okay, Sora?" Riku's voice. Riku's smell. His arms and chest and heartbeat…dreams couldn't feel this real. Dreams couldn't _hurt_ this much.

It had to be real.

"I'm…sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Sora whispered, clenching his arms. He didn't know what he had done, didn't know if he had really _done _any of those wonderful things. If any of those worlds, those people, those struggles to keep standing…

…if none of it was real…if the _Keyblade_ wasn't real…

"I'll try," Sora whispered softly. "I'll try, okay?"

_…and I'll figure this out…somehow, I'll figure out which world is real…_

::TBC::

a/n – uh. Really, I can't tell you what's going on…..and, um, this might disappoint some people, but I honestly have no clue where this is going and when it'll be updated again…;;;; really really sorry, but until I hammer the rest of the plot out, it'll just…kinda be like this? I kinda know…and I guess I'll just have to…figure something out. --;;


End file.
